Laurens Sheriff Arrests Gray Court Man in Internet Predator Case

Attorney General Alan Wilson announced today that Joshua Alan Payne, 24, of 62 Knight Road in Gray Court, South Carolina, was arrested on August 17, 2011, in an Internet Predator case investigated by the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office.

The Laurens County Sheriff’s Office is a member of the Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

Payne was arrested on one (1) count of Criminal Solicitation of a Minor (§16-15-342), a felony offense punishable to ten (10) years imprisonment, and seven (7) counts of Dissemination of Obscene Material to a Minor (§16-15-345), a felony offense punishable to ten (10) years imprisonment on each count.

Arrest warrants allege that beginning August 12, 2011, Payne solicited sex on the Internet from an individual he believed to be the twelve (12) year old daughter of a recent co-worker.  He also emailed the child a number of nude photos of himself, as well as links to pornographic websites.  The girl’s father discovered evidence of the crimes on her computer, and notified the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office.

Payne was denied bond.  A booking photo is available through the Laurens County Detention Center.

This is the two hundred twelfth (212^th) arrest for the Task Force.

The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

Wilson stressed that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.

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